VideoIntegraltoTheSummerKingatPittsburghOpera

Daniel Sonenberg’s The Summer King recently had its world-premiere at Pittsburgh Opera. The opera tells the story of baseball legend Josh Gibson, considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He was a star in the Negro League but died without the opportunity to ever play in the Major League and a year before the color-barrier was broken by Jackie Robinson. After facing heartbreak and discrimination throughout his career and life, Gibson is today enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

The Summer King, a co-production with Michigan Opera Theatre, marks the first world premiere in the Pittsburgh Opera's distinguished 78 year history. The production featured a scenic design from Andrew Lieberman; costume design by Kaye Voyce, video design by Darrel Maloney; and the lighting design of Robert Wierzel.

Pete’s Big TVs provided the three massive LED screens, made up of digiLED MK7 7mm LED modules, which were integral to the visual impact of the opera. They also provided three d3 Technologies d3 media servers to feed Maloney's content to the screens. “We were very happy to work with the creative team at Pittsburgh Opera and Darrel,” says Anne Johnston, account executive with Pete’s Big TVs. “The LED screens played an important scenic role in telling Gibson’s story. We built a mock-up demonstration for the creative team in New York so they could see how the digiLED 7mm product would look. After that, they were sold on the MK7 product paired with d3 Technologies d3 media server to deliver Darrel’s beautiful content to the screens.”